It's hard to get your feet under you at first. It is definitely tough capturing a base because the enemy tends to send a constant stream of troops out and they're defended with turrets.
At the start, build a large number of ground troops and send those to capture all the nearby Construction Sites. Capturing those gives you free Recruits. More tips in a bit.
Shamans are really, really helpful, make lots of them, AND research their abilities. They have an AOE paralyze ability that can shut down enemy units, charm them into switching sides, and cast a shield on your own units that protects them from some damage and prevents debuffs.
Hunters are great against Battle Forge and air units.
Last edited by Stabbey; 30/06/13 11:02 PM. Reason: tips